


lifeline

by SmoshArrowverseFan



Category: Total Drama (Cartoon)
Genre: Dystopia, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Rebellion, also td makes me think of dystopian aus cuz that's what i read in 6th grade yknow, and then makin em all get together, im super bi this is me returning to my favorite show when i was in 6th grade, nowen evzy leharold and duncott are also relatively major, realizing i had a crush on like half the characters, so here ya go!, the main ship is the big one at the beginning, this is NOT a smut thing i just have a bad case of multishipping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-29 13:45:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18223925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmoshArrowverseFan/pseuds/SmoshArrowverseFan
Summary: Courtney has been training her whole life to become a councilwoman in the highest sphere. She's just sixteen, so it's years away still, but her every move is calculated to get her where she wants to be. However, that all changes after a chance encounter with a blue-haired rebel who has her questioning if everything she's been working towards is right.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> yooOOO for the first time since... *checks watch* 2014 i am writing a td story. woo! now i'm hopefully better at writing than i was back then lol. i'm workin on another fic for a different fandom rn, but i plan on working on both of em soo. we'll see how long that lasts.
> 
> anyway! hope y'all enjoy this!

Courtney is about ten seconds away from strangling Heather. If it weren't for the beady eyes of their instructor trained on her, she would already be across the room with her hands wrapped around Heather's stupid throat-  
   
"Hey, Court. Deep breaths," Trent leans down and whispers in her ear, probably sensing her anger escalating. She takes his advice and regulates her breathing, waiting to calm down. It's sort of working. She feels more like slapping Heather across the face than strangling her now. That's a step in the right direction, depending on how you look at it.  
   
"Well done, Ms. Kawata. You've clearly demonstrated your understanding of the techniques we've been learning recently. Ms. Morales, you might want to work on your form. Don't let your emotions get the best of you next time," The instructor says. Courtneys blood boils. She deserved to win. If Heather hadn't played dirty-  
   
But of course, this particular instructor is fine with more than a little bending of the rules. Courtney hates being paired with Heather on days when she's supervising. It happens often enough that Courtney wonders whether it's deliberate. She picks herself off of the ground and stands next to Trent, continuing to glare at Heather, who's pretending to ignore her. The instructor continues to drone on about form for another five minutes, before dismissing them.  
   
Immediately, Courtney is striding across the room and pushing past Heather to get to the door first. It's petty, sure, and probably going to get her in trouble later, but all she cares about right now is getting back at Heather in every way possible, however small. Before she can start planning an elaborate setup to get Heather kicked out of the facility, Trent's at her side, with Bridgette and DJ close behind. Trent puts a hand on her back, something he usually does to ground her, and as usual, it works. Her squad- well, most of her squad- is good at that. Calming her down. Courtney's hotheaded and she knows it, but it's thanks to her three best friends that it hasn't gotten the better of her many, many times.  
   
Of course, the fifth member of their squad is often the reason she needs grounding. Heather finds pleasure in working Courtney up, and Courtney hates that it works, which makes Heather even more happy. It's a vicious cycle.  
   
"Did you see that? She distracted me, and then she tripped me while we were fighting with sharp objects. That's so against the rules!" Courtney exclaims. Bridgette nods sympathetically.  
   
"I know. One of you could've been seriously hurt!"  
   
Heather scoffs, brushing past them. "Right, like someone's going to hold back from tripping you in a real fight. Newsflash, Tight-ass, this is supposed to prepare us for actual combat. I'm doing you a favor. But it’s okay, you can thank me later."  
   
Courtney fumes. "Like I'm ever going to be in combat. I'm going straight to the top. God, she's so..."  
   
"Infuriating?"  
   
"Antagonistic?"  
   
"Scary?"  
   
"I was going to say horrible in general, but all of those work too, I guess. Well, not scary, I’m not scared of her, but… ugh. I can't wait until we graduate and can ditch her for good."  
   
The squad falls silent for a moment as they continue to the mess hall. The sound of their footfalls echo heavily through the empty hallways. It's a sound Courtney's grown used to over the past five and a half years. The facility doesn't feel like home, exactly, but it's familiar. That's similar enough, right?  
   
As they reach the entrance to the mess hall, Courtney's heart falls when she realizes that they've arrived late. Great. Not only do they have less time to eat, but all the jello's going to be gone except for the green kind. She loves jello, but she can't stand the green kind. She'd be settling for a tapioca pudding today, then. Of course.  
   
DJ seems to notice the lack of normal colored jellos at the same time she does, and winces in solidarity. "Ooh, sorry Courtney. Maybe someone'll trade you?"  
   
"Maybe," Courtney says, pretty sure nobody's going to trade for her tapioca pudding. There’s a reason it’s left over at this point. Chef scoops a generous serving of something pale and unrecognizable onto her tray with a disgusting plop noise, and Courtney cringes. That's one thing she's never going to grow accustomed to. She dreams of freshly prepared meals as a councilwoman and places a milk carton next to the goop, careful to keep them from touching.  
   
Sure enough, as she reaches the desserts, only green jello and a few cartons of tapioca pudding remain. She grabs a pudding and waits at the end of the line for her friends to finish getting their food before heading to their usual table.  
   
They eat in their squads, so Heather's already sitting at the end of the table enjoying a container of red jello- she must have gotten the last one, knowing Courtney can't stand the green kind- facing the squad that sits at the table closest to them.  
   
The other squad, or squad delta, as they're officially called, is a mystery to Courtney. She's honestly not sure how they function as a unit, but they do- better than her own squad, even. It's no secret what's holding them back- Heather- but whatever is propelling squad delta to success definitely is.  
   
The first member of the group, and probably the oddest, is a small girl named Dawn. You wouldn't guess it by looking at her, but the girl's a regular heavyweight. She can lift more than some of their instructors- Courtney's seen it firsthand. But that isn't Dawn's primary strength. No, the girl can read people like an open book. It's honestly pretty creepy, in Courtney's opinion, and the first time Dawn told her that she was so desperate to succeed because she wanted to escape her older sister's shadow, she felt sufficiently violated and impressed, but she has to admit that Dawn is a major asset to her squad.  
   
The next members of squad delta work as a unit. Mike and Zoey had grown up together, best friends since... well, ever. They're pretty similar to herself and Trent in that way. The two play off of each other so well that they're practically a single unit. Watching them spar is one of the most entertaining experiences Courtney's had at the facility. Additionally, the pair is weirdly friendly to pretty much everyone. Heather, obviously, is one of the exceptions, but even then, they're not outright rude to her. Courtney's not sure how they do it.  
   
Then, there's Lightning. If Dawn's a heavyweight, Lightning's a... well, honestly, there's really no words for Lightning. He's a tank. He may not be the brightest, but damn if he isn't one of the most driven people Courtney's seen when it comes to training and winning. She admires him for that. Additionally, he brings a lot of team spirit to squad delta.  
   
But if there were a leader of squad delta, it wouldn't be Lightning, it'd be Scott. He makes up for Lightning's lack of brains by being a total schemer. He's excellent at picking apart his opponents weaknesses and exploiting them, while on the flipside, accentuating and playing off of his squad's individual strengths. He's the brains of the operation.  
   
Cohesively, they're the strongest squad in the facility. They're what Courtney's own squad could be, if it weren't for one infuriating, raven-haired problem. Speaking of Heather, she shoots Courtney an antagonistic grin as she takes her seat.  
   
"Oh, Courtney. I saw they just ran out of red jello, sorry about that," she said, eating her own jello cup. Courtney rolls her eyes.  
   
"Right. Like you didn't take the red jello to spite me. You don't even like jello!"  
   
Trent plants a hand on Courtney's shoulder. "Calm down, Courtney. It's just jello."  
   
Courtney shakes her head. "It's not about the jello, it's the principle-"  
   
Heather cuts her off. "Sorry, sorry, it's just... your voice is giving me a headache, so could you just... stop talking? Preferably forever."  
   
Courtney's about to say something, but Bridgette speaks up first. "Leave her alone, Heather. Let her eat her lunch."  
   
Heather looks like she's going to argue, but simply sighs after a moment. "Right. I've got better things to do, anyway," She picks up her tray and walks away. Bridgette lets out a sigh.  
   
"Now that she's gone, we can eat in peace."  
   
Courtney eats about six spoonfuls of the goop before deciding that Chef's cooking hasn't miraculously improved since breakfast, and moves onto the pudding. It's better than nothing, but it's no jello.  
   
"God, hasn't chef ever heard of spices?" DJ asks after a moment. Courtney rolls her eyes.  
   
"We've been over this. He makes the food gross on purpose," She says. DJ sticks out his chin.  
   
"And I still don't think he'd do that!"  
   
"Think whatever you like, you're still totally wrong."  
   
"And I'm just going to stop you both here, before you get into the same argument for the millionth time. We're just gonna agree to disagree, because the bottom line is, Chef's food sucks," Trent says, and that's that. Courtney swirls her pudding with her spoon. Who came up with the idea for tapioca pudding, anyway? Who looked at pudding and thought, 'You know what this needs? Some chewy bits.'  
   
Tapioca pudding is kind of weird.  
   
"So, guys. Did you hear about the supplies that were stolen from an outpost out west?" Trent asks after a moment. Courtney nods.  
   
"Yeah, I heard it was that rebel group that's been causing a lot of trouble lately. What were they called again?"  
   
"The Underworld's Army, I think," Bridgette pipes up. Courtney rolls her eyes. God, that's the stupidest name she's heard so far.  
   
"Seriously? Honestly, you think nothing can top the Freedom Pirates, and then you're hit with something like that. Honestly, who came up with that one, a six year old?" She asks. DJ shrugs.  
   
"I don't know, I think it's a pretty cool name. Better than the one that was just a combination of all the member's last names. That one was... pretty bad," DJ cringes at the memory, and Courtney has to concede.  
   
"Okay, you're right, but still. It's not like it's good. I mean, they're a rebel group, how good can they be?"  
   
"Just because they're rebels doesn't mean they can't have a kickass name," Trent shrugs. Courtney throws her hands up in the air.  
   
"But it's not a kickass name! It's a dumbass name!" She says. Bridgette shakes her head fondly.  
   
"If you say so."  
   
"Alright, you're just trying to wind me up at this point."  
   
Trent grins. "Guilty as charged."  
   
At that moment, the bell rings. Courtney's up and scraping her food into the garbage bin in the middle of the mess hall. Her squad has a half an hour before their next training session, and she knows exactly how she's going to spend it.  
   
Trent, DJ, and Bridgette catch up to her by the main exit. DJ grins at her.  
   
"You're excited today, huh?" He asks, and Courtney shrugs.  
   
"I need some fresh air," She says, leading them out of the mess hall. Her brain on autopilot, leading her through the halls she knows by heart. Her friends walk briskly to keep up.  
   
"Court, you mind slowing down a bit? My calves have been sore since yesterday," DJ says. Court slows her pace minimally.  
   
"Sorry, I just..." she trails off. Trent pats her back sympathetically.  
   
"I know. Today’s been a lot. Heather can really get to you, huh?"  
   
Courtney huffs. "I don't know why she just goes after me! Not that I'd want her to antagonize any of you, but... you know. She gets on my nerves!"  
   
Bridgette rubs the back of her neck sheepishly. "I mean... it might be because you're easier to provoke? I mean, Trent's the chillest person I know most of the time, I can't imagine DJ getting mad at anyone, and I try to keep away from confrontation in general."  
   
Courtney considers this. "Probably. But still! That doesn't mean I should have to take all of her bullsh-"  
   
"Shh!" Trent whispers, grabbing her by the shoulder and stopping her suddenly. Bridgette and DJ follow suit, pausing.  
   
"Wha-"  
   
"Shh. Quiet," Trent whispers again. Courtney shuts her mouth and listens as the sound of heavy footsteps approach. They don't sound like the boots the trainees at the facility wear. They sound more like-  
   
"Military," Bridgette breathes, and just then, two soldiers appear from around the corner. Real, actual soldiers, not trainees. Her friends look like deer caught in the headlights, and Courtney assumes she looks the same, but the soldiers disregard them, continuing down the hallway without acknowledging her or her friends.  
   
Behind the first two soldiers come a few more, these soldiers each restraining a struggling teenager. Courtney's breath catches in her throat. Are these members of some sort of rebel force? The definitely look like rebels. One seems to be attempting to bite the soldier restraining her, and another is struggling and shouting expletives. The final rebel, however, doesn't seem to be doing much rebelling at all, trudging down the hallway with her head down. Her short blue hair falls in a curtain around her face, and Courtney's stomach feels uneasy at the sight. Weren't rebels supposed to be hardened, unfeeling? But this girl looks defeated. Courtney frowns.  
   
As she's passing by, the girl lifts her head for a moment and meets Courtney's eye. Despite the other girl being the one in handcuffs, Courtney feels trapped. She doesn't like the feeling, but she can't look away from the girl until the procession turns the corner and the spell is broken.  
   
"What was that?" Bridgette speaks first, her voice still hushed. Trent shakes his head.  
   
"No idea. I mean, it looked like they were rebels, but why would they bring them here?" Trent frowns. Courtney shakes her head.  
   
"It doesn't make sense. It's also none of our business. Let's go," She says, turning the same corner the soldiers had come from. Her friends share a glance, but follow her anyway.  
   
Try as she might, however, Courtney couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that seeing the girl had left her with.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao so like these chapters are super short so imma keep posting em i guess.

There aren't many good places to think at the facility. Luckily for Courtney, she'd managed to find one of the few good places away from the rest of world. Back during her first year at the facility, before she'd really gotten to know Bridgette and DJ, she and Trent had found a small area on the roof that they could access through a back hallway.  
   
She and Trent had spent hours up there together, just talking. And when they'd eventually befriended Bridgette and DJ, they'd taken them up too. It's their own little spot that's just theirs, because, miraculously, nobody ever seems to come up there.  
   
It's where Courtney is now, wind whipping her hair into her face. She brushes it away, but it just ends up back in her mouth. Bridgette's on one side of her, and Trent's on the other, with DJ next to him, and although this is a familiar situation, there's a feeling of unease hanging heavy in the air. Trent's the first to break the silence.  
   
"You're being quiet, Courtney. Something on your mind?" He asks.  
   
"We're all being quiet."  
   
"Yeah, but that's normal. You always have something to say," He says fondly. Courtney smiles despite herself.  
   
"I guess I do."  
   
"So. What're you thinking about?" He asks. Courtney shrugs.  
   
"I don't know."  
   
Bridgette raises an eyebrow. "You don't know."  
   
"I don't know... I feel weird," Courtney replies, crossing her arms over her chest. It's true, she feels weird. That blue-haired girl did something to her, and she doesn't like it.  
   
"What kind of weird?" DJ asks. Courtney shrugs again.  
   
"Like... in my stomach."  
   
"Was it the pudding?" He asks. Courtney shakes her head.  
   
"No. If it were anything I ate, it'd be that weird sludge. But no. It's..." She trails off. She doesn't want to talk about what they just saw. That would make it real. It's better if it's just in her head, so she can forget about it.  
   
"Those rebels," Bridgette speaks up first. Courtney nods in spite of herself.  
   
"Yeah."  
   
"I've never seen rebels before," Trent says. DJ frowns.  
   
"I have. Once, when I was really little. I saw soldiers arresting this pair who was out in the street, protesting something. I don't remember what. I'd forgotten about it until now..."  
   
"That... that's what's supposed to happen. It's illegal to rebel," Courtney says firmly. She's trying to convince herself. Bridgette nods uncertainly.  
   
"Right."  
   
Trent frowns. "I... don't know." The other three look at him, and he continues. "I mean, did... did you see that girl? The third one, at the end. She looked so..."  
   
"Helpless," Courtney breathes, and then shuts her mouth, alarmed. This is bad. She shouldn't be feeling sympathetic for the enemy. That's what they are, enemies.  
   
"I... is what we're doing... right?" Bridgette asks after a moment. Courtney steels her expression.  
   
"Of course it is. We've worked towards this for years. Of course it's right."  
   
DJ crosses his arms and frowns. "Doesn't feel right."  
   
Courtney frowns. "Well, it doesn't matter if it feels right or not, because it has to be right or everything we've worked for is... it has to be right!" Courtney insists. She's not sure who she's trying to convince at this point. Trent gives her an uneasy smile and leans into her.  
   
"Court..."  
   
"I..."  
   
"I know. I know," He wraps an arm around Courtney, and she folds into him.  
   
"Well... what are we gonna do about it?" Bridgette says after a moment, her head nestled into Courtney's neck.  
   
"What can we do about it?" DJ asks. Trent frowns.  
   
"We could try talking to them."  
   
"Talking to who?" Bridgette asks.  
   
"The rebels. We'd have to find them first, and it probably wouldn't be cleared, but we could manage it," He says. Courtney frowns.  
   
"We saw the direction they went in. And we could ask around, see if anyone else saw them," She says. Trent shoots her a small smile.  
   
"Great. And once we know where they are..."  
   
"We sneak in."

* * *

   
That's how Courtney finds herself asking Zoey and Mike whether they'd seen the rebels.  
   
Mike rubs the back of his head nervously. "I did see them come this way, yeah. It's so weird to actually see rebels... I mean, I knew I'd see one one day, but they've always been more of an idea than real people..."  
   
"Why do you ask?" Zoey asks, smiling at Courtney. Courtney frowns and shrugs.  
   
"I was just curious. I'd love to get a better look at them. It's a good hands on experience," She says. Mike nods.  
   
"Sure. Anyway, like I said, I saw them heading down that hallway," He says before frowning. "Are you sure you won't get in trouble for sneaking in to see them?"  
   
Courtney rolls her eyes. "Come on, it's not like we're on their side. Just figuring out what their game is."  
   
Mike looks unconvinced, but merely gives her a small smile. "Alright, Courtney. Good luck."  
   
She's already halfway down the hallway at this point, but pauses to throw a "Thank you!" over her shoulder.  
   
Next, she runs into Justin, who's thoroughly unhelpful, and Amy, who she doesn't even attempt to ask. There's absolutely no way she's going to willingly talk to Amy. She's almost as bad as Heather. Almost.  
   
Finally, she runs into Cody, who's lounging by one of the classrooms. She coughs to get his attention. He looks up with a geeky grin.  
   
"Hey, Courtney. 'Sup?" He says, and Courtney restrains herself from rolling her eyes, instead choosing to focus on the task at hand.  
   
"Hi, Cody. You wouldn't happen to have seen some rebels being taken down this way, would you?" She asks. Cody's eyes light up.  
   
"I may have. Why'd you ask?"  
   
"I'm looking for a little hands on experience dealing with rebels," She says.  
   
Cody winks. "I'd love a little hands on experience with some rebels myself, if you know what I mean... Did you see that blue-haired chick? Dang."  
   
Courtney gives him a blank stare, and he has the decency to look sheepish. "Sorry, that was... yeah. They're in the room at the end of the hallway."  
   
"Great, thanks Cody," She says, quickly checking her watch. Shit, she's got five minutes before class starts. That's definitely not enough time to investigate the rebels. While she's in class, she could lose her chance to ever talk to them, and to settle the feeling in her stomach... Screw it.  
   
Courtney turns and heads straight for the door, ignoring Cody's confused expression. She takes a deep breath, before reaching for the handle. If anyone asks, she can just say she was looking for Bridgette. She opened the door and stepped into the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope yall enjoyed the chapter! :) comments and kudos are much appreciated.

**Author's Note:**

> hope that was alright! it's so nice to be getting back into td, it's like. so familiar and nice. anyway yea! have a good one! kudos and comments are always appreciated <3


End file.
